Wimbledon Day 7 wrap: Tennis stunned as billionaire Emma Navarro’s giant-killing run continues
The tennis world has been left stunned after little-known billionaire Emma Navarro took down another giant on Day 7 at Wimbledon.
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Welcome to news.com.au’s rolling coverage of Day 7 action from Wimbledon.
It was a dramatic day on the grass courts of the All England Club, read on below to see how all the action panned out:
Billionaire’s giant-killing run continues
World number two Coco Gauff was sent crashing out of Wimbledon by American compatriot Emma Navarro on Monday (AEST).
Gauff’s 6-4, 6-3 fourth round defeat means that only two of the top 10 women’s seeds are left in the tournament.
Navarro, ranked 19th, reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time with her defeat of US Open champion Gauff.
Gauff, who made the semi-finals at the Australian Open and French Open this year, has still to get past the last 16 at Wimbledon, the tournament, where she made her breakthrough as a 15-year-old in 2019.
Her shock defeat followed the unexpected exit of world number one Iga Swiatek in the third round on Saturday.
“I think I played really aggressively. Coco’s an amazing player and I have a ton of respect for her,” said 23-year-old Navarro.
Only fourth-ranked 2022 champion Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini, the world number seven, remain from the top 10 women.
Navarro’s win continues her giant-killing run at the All England Club after she knocked out Naomi Osaka in the second round.
Naavarro won her first WTA title this January when she claimed the Hobart International crown while reaching the third round of the Australian Open and fourth round at the French Open.
She was born to Kelly and Ben Navarro, who is the billionaire founder and chief operating officer of the Sherman Financial Group that runs Credit One.
Ben, who attempted to buy the Carolina Panthers NFL team in 2018, bought the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament in Cincinnati in 2022 under Beemok Capital.
EMMA NAVARRO TAKES DOWN WORLD NO. 2 COCO GAUFF IN STRAIGHT SETS AT #Wimbledon 😱 pic.twitter.com/8fh3f6XwWp
— ESPN (@espn) July 7, 2024
🎾 First WTA Tour title
— wta (@WTA) July 7, 2024
🎾 First Grand Slam quarterfinal
🎾 First Top 5 win (x2)
Emma Navarro's breakout season keeps getting better!#Wimbledonpic.twitter.com/mdOsNv4CnD
Navarro d. Coco Gauff 6-4 6-3
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 7, 2024
Wow.
After 7 major appearances, Emma is into her 1st Grand Slam Quarterfinal.
Biggest win of her life.
Biggest moment of her career.
And I promise you… it’s only going to get bigger.
✅1st Wimbledon QF
✅2nd top 5 win of 2024
Too good.
🇺🇸â¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/sEj4mZG4YR
He has a net worth of A$2.2bn and is the son of former college football coach Frank Navarro, who had tenures at Williams College, Columbia, Wabash College and Princeton.
“As a fan, father, and business owner, tennis has brought so much to our family,” Ben said in 2019.
“Junior tennis has provided a place for our children to learn a work ethic, develop friendship through shared struggle, and learn to handle disappointment, defeat, and sometimes even unfairness.”
Alcaraz, Sinner into Wimbledon last-eight
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and world number one Jannik Sinner were locked on a Wimbledon semi-final collision course on Monday morning (AEST).
Injured American Madison Keys quit her last-16 clash against Jasmine Paolini in floods of tears after having been one game from victory, while Donna Vekic overcame three rain interruptions to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
World number three Alcaraz defeated French 16th seed Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to make the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the ninth time in just 14 appearances.
However, it was another uncomfortable afternoon for the Spaniard, who had needed five sets to see off Frances Tiafoe in the third round.
His erratic performance on Monday saw him drop serve five times and commit an uncharacteristic 33 unforced errors.
The 21-year-old, bidding to become just the sixth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back, eased through the first set under the Centre Court roof before crucially saving four break points in the fifth game of the second.
Humbert stormed back, breaking the champion three times in the third set as Alcaraz went spectacularly off the boil.
But Humbert handed over a service break in the 11th game of the fourth set and Alcaraz took full advantage to quickly seal the tie.
“I will be there, fighting until the last ball,” said Alcaraz, who is chasing a fourth Grand Slam title.
Alcaraz will take on American 12th seed Tommy Paul, who beat Roberto Bautista Agut, a 2019 semi-finalist, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.
Over on Court One, top seed Sinner moved into the last-eight with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (11/9) win over American 14th seed Ben Shelton.
Sinner, who won his maiden Slam crown at the Australian Open this year, will face Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev for a place in the semi-finals in a rematch of their final in Melbourne.
Sinner’s best performance at Wimbledon came in 2023 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
“It was a tough match, especially the third set. I had to keep saving set points. These matches can go long but I was glad to close it in three,” said Sinner.
Medvedev, a semi-finalist last year, progressed when 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov retired in the first set with a knee injury.
Raducanu knocked out after epic run
Lulu Sun made history for New Zealand with a three-set victory over Emma Raducanu, shattering home hopes of ending a 47-year wait for a British women’s champion.
Qualifier Sun, ranked at 123, triumphed 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 over the 2021 US Open winner.
The 23-year-old left-hander hit 52 winners against Raducanu, who took a medical time-out in the third set to treat problems with her ankle and back.
“It was a great match against Emma. I really dug deep to get the win,” said Sun.
Raducanu’s loss came a day after she found herself at the centre of controversy after pulling out of a mixed doubles match with the retiring Andy Murray.
Sun will next face Croatia’s Donna Vekic as she bids to become only the second New Zealand woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final after Belinda Cordwell at the 1989 Australian Open.
Vekic, the world number 37, clinched a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 win over Spain’s Paula Badosa on the back of 33 winners.
US 12th seed Keys was just one game away from a third quarter-final at the All England Club before she was forced to quit against Paolini.
After dropping the first set to the seventh seed Italian, Keys hit back to level the match at 3-6, 7-6 (8/6).
The 2017 US Open runner-up then raced into a 5-2 lead in the decider when she suffered a left leg injury in the eighth game.
At 5-4, she took a medical time-out, returned with her left leg bandaged but with her movement severely restricted, she wept openly on court before quitting at 5-5.
Paolini will face 19th seed Emma Navarro for a place in the semi-finals.
“I’m very sorry for her. It’s sad,” said French Open runner-up Paolini, who had never won a grass-court match until two weeks ago.
Originally published as Wimbledon Day 7 wrap: Tennis stunned as billionaire Emma Navarro’s giant-killing run continues
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